The Scorpion Queen
by PennBlaze
Summary: When Sara Case, a plain and proper English woman, finally graduated and achieved her dream job, she is unexpectedly thrown into a terrifying and thrilling adventure into the ancient world of Egypt of dark curses, reincarnation, old kings, and mummies.
1. The Scorpion Queen

**I do not own any of these characters or story plot or anything in this story. All of these belong to the writer of The Mummy Returns. I only own my character- Ms. Sara Case.**

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"I have a couple gifts for you…" a dark-haired woman spoke, cooing to her long-lost lover now newly reclaimed to her. She leaned against her lover, their lips meeting in a passionate kiss as he ran his fingers through her dark hair and along the smooth tanned flesh. Her teeth gleamed in a delighted smile, catching the off light from their ritual. There was adoration in her usual dark eyes, nearly black against the white highlight of her pupils. The adoration vanished as quickly as it had appeared as she snapped at two servants, clad in red, "The women."

"Yes, Ms. Nais," The servants bustled forwards, jolted with fear, and stood next to two dark bounded figures. The men were too shocked to present them, so they stood silently next to the figures until the dark-headed woman and their lord walked in their direction to examine the girls.

The creature stood amongst his followers, ignoring the gawking looks and dropped jaws, to look at his new presents. The mangled tissue twisted into something resembling a smile as he observed the first woman, bound on a slab of wood unconscious. Her brown curls scattered around her face as if a halo surrounded her, and she shook her head briefly, her eyes fluttered open as she regained consciousness. She looked about, shocked, her jaw dropping just as the others around her, "You!" She gasped at the familiarity of the creature, pure hate filling her green eyes.

The smile turned twisted, making the creature more menacing towards the audience around him, and some shuttered in fear. The brunette woman continued to glare, mumbling curses under her breath until a couple of men bound her mouth with a cloth, in hopes of silencing her before their lord became angered. The dark-haired woman, Ms. Nais, smiled to her lover wickedly, "I thought it would enjoy you to watch her burn." Beyond the small clearing in the warehouse, a fire erupted in a pit, sending a fresh wave of smoke and burning embers around it. The creature smirked as the brunet's eyes became wide, watching the fire engulf the small bits of lumber thrown in and the flames dance menacingly, as if mocking her fate.

Ms. Nais turned, pleased with his reaction, and lead the mangled man forward towards the next woman. She lay on the floor in a small heap of tangled limbs, her raven hair covering her face. He leaned down, brushing the hair away from her dark skin, gaping in shock. His jaw hung from the torn flesh and muscle until his lover placed a tanned hand on his shoulder, as if to confirm his assumption. He whispered something in Arabic, his voice low and animalistic. The dark haired woman nodded, "The Scorpion Queen."

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Sara Case had never been very interested in history, taking only the mandatory general history course in high school to achieve the credit to graduate. She didn't know about the past, about different cultures from long ago all around the world- and frankly, she didn't really give a damn.

Her passion had always been to help people, not to study them and their ways. She had attended all of the universities she could, maintaining high grades and excelled to become what she had always dreamed of- a doctor. Sara had always wanted to help, felt the need to do something to cure people of their problems and diseases, and that was exactly what she intended to do.

Once she had graduated from university with her diploma in hand and the official title of medical staff, she moved to London to become a full-time doctor in hopes of making a difference in the world. She had only been staying there a couple months when she received a house-call, something she occasionally did for the wealthy of England.

She arrived at the British Museum of Natural History to treat the Curator, Mr. Hafez who had supposedly been feeling ill as of a couple days ago. It was a normal day for Sara, and she arrived full of live and ready to help.

She had walked into his office when he had gasped, staring at the woman in shock. "You," he had mumbled, under his breath, his eyes wide with glee and fear.

"Yes," Sara smiled her award winning smile, her brilliant teeth flashing in the Curator's direction, "Are you Mr. Hafez? I'm from the medical clinic to check up on you and see how you are feeling. What are you symptoms?" She walked towards his desk and placed her medical supplies bag on it, digging through it for her stethoscope. "Let's see what your lungs sound like…"

When she made a move towards his chest with the instrument, he smacked it away and stood up abruptly, making the young woman stumble back. "Ebe-Djabenusiri," He pointed towards her, and Sara looked around curiously for the owner of the name.

"Excuse me? Sir, are you feeling well? You look a bit pale," She tried to calm the old man, seating him down in his dark purple velvet chair behind the dark wood desk. He sat down, his finger still shaking at her in surprise. "Now," Sara spoke, holding out her stethoscope, "shall we try this again?"

She made another move for his chest before he coughed, turning away from her again. Sara stood up, her hands on her hips, glaring at him impatiently. "Look, if you don't want my help-" She was caught off guard when he held up a finger in her direction, signaling her to pause. He picked up his phone, and dialed a number, mumbling something in Arabic to the person on the other side.

Sara glared, finally fed up with his manners. She stuffed her stethoscope inside her medical supplies bag, smoothed out the wrinkles in her blouse, and made a sound of distaste in the Curator's direction before stomping off towards his doorway. "Why, if it ever see that short little fat man again-" In her frustration, she looked back at the short man, now off the phone and staring at her in wonder.

She flung open the door and continued walking, only stopped when she suddenly bumped into something hard as her head turned back in the direction she was going. Sara rubbed her nose and looked up, following a red cloth shirt up to the stern-looking face of an African man. His face looked bored as he gazed back down at her, his dark eyes showing little enthusiasm as he spoke, his accent out of place, "Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm leaving," Sara announced, trying to step around him and carry on with her desired exist. She could imagine driving back to the clinic in a fluster at the waste of time; this would be the last time they sent her on a house-call, especially here.

A dark arm shot out in front of her, blocking her exist. Sara's gaze followed the dark skin, to the red shirt and dark, unenthusiastic eyes, "I don't think so." His voice was rich and smooth, but underneath the velvet texture of it, she could sense the danger she was in. She blinked a couple times before he grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her back into the office of the Curator.

He led her to a velvet green chair in front of the dark wooden desk, and placed her in it firmly by a hand on her shoulder. She tired to squirm out of his grasp, but it tightened, keeping her in her place. Sara gave up defeated, and looked across at the bemused expression on the Curator's face, watching the scene before him. "Thank you, Lock-Nah," The elder man spoke, his hands crossed against his chest, watching Sara with hawk-like eyes. "Now, Miss…"

"Ms. Case," Sara corrected.

"Yes, Ms. Case, we have something to discuss. Something important that I think will become a shock towards you, but will become very handy towards me." He looked down at the open book in front of him, comparing the similarities of the sculpture to the woman seated behind his desk: the same dark raven hair, skin the colour of milk chocolate, small rounded nose and the dark brown eyes with a flicker of golden in them. She was a perfect replica to the ancient image- a living, breathing copy. Excellent.


	2. The Daring Escape

**I do not own any of these characters or story plot or anything in this story. All of these belong to the writer of The Mummy Returns. I only own my character- Ms. Sara Case.**

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**Sara awoke to fingertips brushing along her jaw. Her eyes opened slowly but everything was in a daze; the last thing she could remember was the sickening scent of chemicals and her muffled scream through a cloth covering her mouth: chloroform. The thought made her nauseous, and her stomach heaved in her throat, threatening to spill over.

Sara fought the urge to throw up, swallowing a couple times. She tried to blink away the haze from her eyes and when that didn't work, she attempted to move her hand up to clear her vision-but couldn't. She grunted, trying to move her hands, but found them restricted behind her; the harder she tried to pull them apart, the harder the rope would dig into her skin. A sudden panic washed over her as she tried to kick her legs, but found them bound too. Chloroform and rope- it didn't really seem like a fun night to her. Adrenaline pumped through her veins from the panic, and her heart raced, causing her to trash against her restraints with no luck. She winced at the pain, and fell limb, letting her eyes adjust on their own.

Once they adjusted to the dim light, she looked about to figure out her surroundings. Sara could make out a fire in the short distance: smell the burning wood and hear the sharp crackles of the dry limber. She could see a brunet woman on a slab of wood, staring at her in a panic as well. Their eyes met for a moment before the brunet woman scanned the perimeter for an escape. Another woman, tied up? A chill ran through Sara's body and thought clouded her mind, _what have I gotten myself into? _ She continued to look around the musty warehouse looking building, clearly left unclean as she sneezed into the cloud of dust and sand surrounding her on the floor. She could also see an audience of people; all men clad in red- some with cloth covering their faces, some old and some young. They all looked in her direction, either at her or the figures above her.

Sara's eyes followed the shadows cast on her from the figures above, and her eyes followed the high heeled dainty looking feet to a woman with dark hair and even darker eyes. There seemed to be something sinister about her, despite the comforting smile she offered Sara- it seemed to fake in the surroundings given. The woman looked next to her lovingly, as if looking for gratitude from someone, and Sara followed her gaze.

She screamed. She couldn't help it as she gazed at the mauled figure above her, staring down with empty eye sockets towards her. Its head was cocked to the side, with either amusement or curiosity as he looked down upon her, watching her reaction. Dead skin hung from his limbs, and the smell of rotten flesh flooded her nose. She screamed again in terror as it leaned closer, brushing the grotesque tips of its rotten fingers against her skin. Sara tried to wiggle away, out of it grasp, but it grabbed her chin forcefully, making her stare into its lifeless eyes. It mumbled something in a language unknown to her, something foreign, its voice deep and crumbly, as if it was as dry as the Sahara desert. From the sound of the voice, she assumed it was male, but that was the least of her worries.

The dark-haired woman leaned down, next to the creature, her hand on his shoulder in a comforting motion, "Ms. Case," she scolded Sara, her voice disappointed, "That is no way to greet the Lord Imhotep." She smiled lovingly at the creature and his chin stuck up, as if taking pride in the name. Sara personally didn't give a damn who he was- he could have been the Queen of England for all she cared, and she kept trying to squirm out of his harsh grasp.

He growled, an animalistic sound forming in his chest, and the sound of panting surrounded them. The Curator of the museum came into view, heaving lightly from his lack of exercise. At the sound of the heavy breathing, the monster let go of Sara's chin and looked onto the old man, as if expecting something.

Mr. Hafez cleared his throat, bringing the attention towards himself and Sara looked up, gaping, "You!" She screamed at him, furious with the elder man. "You stupid old bastard! What is the meaning of this?"

Imhotep looked back down, snapping his fingers at two guards. They appeared beside Sara's wiggling form and tied a cloth around her mouth, muffling her shouts of protest and anger. The cloth smelt and tasted like old moth balls and she tried to spit it out but failed miserably, choking on the taste. The acid in her stomach bubbled as another fit of nausea hit her, making her dizzy.

"Sir, Ms. Nais," Mr. Hafez started, looking at the young woman uncomfortably, still glaring at him and screaming into the cloth used as a gag, "I know she may be deemed rather unfit- but she fits the description of Ebe-Djabenusiri to a T." He paused to cough, signs of his sickness showing. Sara smiled smugly to herself, _So the old man is sick; I hope he drops dead. _"The similarities don't end, she is a doctor and there is an image of a scorpion on her back. They all tie together- she is the reincarnation of the Scorpion Queen."

Sara was too distracted by the thought of the old Curator finding her tattoo, and mostly how he found it. It was hidden on the small of her back, a terrible choice had made when she was younger and now regretted_, How would he of ever seen it?_ While she thought of the possibilities, all disturbing, she was brought out of her thoughts by the sounds of shouting. The brunet woman had somehow torn off her gag and was screaming at the creature, "I'll send you back to your grave, you monster!"

The figure of Imhotep stood up, the dead flesh on his face turning into a somewhat amused smile, showing his rotten, blackened teeth. The dark-haired woman, Ms. Nais, walked over towards the brunet, hand in hand with the monster, the same sinister and twisted smile plastered over her face. "Not if he sends you to your grave first!" She yelled, giving the signal to two guards who grabbed the slab of wood the woman was laid upon and carried her closer towards the fire. The brunet gazed into the flames, trying to get free with all her might.

Sara closed her eyes in disgust, cracking an eye open at the last moment before the woman was thrown into the fire. All of a sudden, a man jumped through the flames and grabbed the woman, rolling off the slab of wood with her. "Evelyn!" His bright blue eyes were full of distress, and his thin lips were pulled into a line of determination. He cut the ropes binding her, shooting at the monster's goons that rushed to stop him. One man was just about to shoot the woman when a gun shot was fired from up above and the man dropped dead, a bullet through his forehead. Sara's eyes scanned the cat walks for the mysterious sniper and could see a man in black ropes firing a machine gun at the goons.

"Grab the girl, Rick!" The brunet woman, Evelyn, screamed at her savior as she shot some of the men in red, trying to make her way towards the exit. Rick shot at the monster, which yelped in pain, and scooped up Sara, tossing her over his shoulder. They continued their firing, killing off goons left and right while climbing the ladder towards the cat walk.

"Watch for the girl! Do not shoot her!" The Ms. Nais screamed orders to the goons, before attending to the monster.

The next thing Sara knew, she was out the door, still bouncing on the man named Rick's shoulder as he ran for an escape. He set her down outside, and another man appeared with a sharp curved knife, cutting the ropes from her wrists and ankles. Sara recognized him as the mysterious sniper from the cat walk, but up close he was much more fascinating. Blue tribal tattoos covered his face, and he worked silently, the same look of determination in his rich chocolate ones as Rick's eyes- the determination for freedom. He gripped the gag in Sara's mouth, sliding his blade along it. The gag fell from her mouth and Sara welcomed the fresh air into her lungs.

"Come on," The Evelyn yelled at Sara, and she followed her three saviors towards their escape vehicle. "Where are Jonathan and Alex?"

Suddenly a double decker bus pulled up in front of the museum and the man behind the driver's wheel held head outside of the window, "Come on! Get in!" Sara's saviors looked on in disbelief at their escape car but followed their instructions, climbing into the bus.

Sara followed, sitting at the back of bus and looked about, "This night just keeps getting more and more interesting."


	3. An Ancient Evil

**I do not own any of these characters or story plot or anything in this story. All of these belong to the writer of The Mummy Returns. I only own my character- Ms. Sara Case.**

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**"So what's exactly happening?" Sara asked, watching the others from her place in the back of the bus. She was rubbing the already developing bruises around her wrists where the rope had been.

All the heads on the bus turned towards her, almost in a comical fashion, then towards each other as if questioning to tell her the truth. Rick shrugged his shoulders at the others, as if to say, _What the heck?_ And as if on a final agreement, the mysterious sniper with tribal tattoos sat next to Sara, taking a deep breath to explain, "Well, that corpse was the resurrected mummy of Imhotep, the High Priest to Seti the first; and the dark-haired woman was the reincarnation of Anck-su-Namun, the pharaoh's concubine. Illicit passion led to betrayal and murder of the pharaoh himself. The pharaoh's concubine killed herself before the Med-Jai could stop her, trusting Imhotep to bring her back from the dead. Later, Imhotep managed to steal her body and take it to Hamunaptura, City of the Dead. The Med-Jai arrived in time to halt the blasphemous ceremony before Imhotep could restore the concubine's organs to her mummified body. For this outrage Imhotep was condemned to be mummified alive. The Med-Jai saw him shut into his sarcophagus with dozens of scarabs, flesh eaters who could survive by devouring him slowly over the coming centuries."

Her mouth stayed open in a permanent gasp, her jaw hanging loosely. Everything went in one ear and out the other, and she sat completely frozen, trying to get a hold of everything the tattooed man had just said. _Med-Jai? Reincarnation? Mummy? Brought back to life?_ Despite all her confusion and questions, the most intelligent thing that she could say was, "Huh?"

Rick chuckled, running his hands through his cropped brown hair, "Yeah, it's a lot to grasp at first…" He wrapped his arms around the brunet woman's waist, and she leaned back into him comfortably. He burrowed his head in her brown curls, and Sara looked away, almost as if she had intruded on something.

She looked down, studying her hands as they clenched and unclenched in her lap, a nervous habit she always had as a child. Her brain hurt from trying to comprehend everything, and her heart raced, thinking back towards the monster, the woman, and the weird circumstances she was in. "This is all so hard to understand," Sara sobbed silently, still gazing down at her hands, fidgeting.

"Don't worry," The brunet lady said, smiling cheerfully at Sara, in a warm and friendly way that made Sara instantly relax, "you'll be safe now." After a brief pause, the woman jumped slightly in shock, and covered her mouth with a hand, "Oh! How rude of me," she said formally, her face red from embarrassment, "let me introduce ourselves: my name is Evelyn Carnahan O'Connell, this is my husband Rick, and our son Alex," Evelyn ruffled a young boy seated close to her's blond hair, and he smacked her hand away lightly as if embarrassed, groaning in protest to her display of affection. She pointed to the driver next, and then the tattooed man next to Sara, "This is my brother, Jonathan and our family friend, Ardeth Bay."

Sara nodded, smiling politely as she introduced herself, "Sara Case." A short pause followed the introductions and Sara crossed her legs, letting herself fidget again. She looked up briefly, glancing around for answers, "So where do I fit in all of this?"

Ardeth looked at her closely, "Imhotep and his followers believe you are the incarnated queen of a legendary Egyptian solider who sold his soul to Anubis, and now rules the army of the Underworld for all of eternity."

He watched her reaction as her eyebrows rose, her eyes widening. She scoffed, "Look Mr. Bay, you've got the wrong girl; I am no queen, no mistress of the Underworld or..."

"You do resemble her a lot though," Evelyn said from her place, and all eyes turned towards Sara as if to examine her closely. Even Jonathan looked back, who was driving the bus, until he was snapped at by Rick for being so careless. "I had recently been studying the story of the Scorpion King, and have stumbled across the Bracelet of Anubis on a dig in Egypt. When we arrived home earlier today, our house was broken into. He must have taken the bracelet then."

Ardeth Bay nodded grimly and combed his black hair back with his fingers, "I believe Imhotep needs both you and the Bracelet of Anubis to arise the army, and I fear if the bracelet is already in his clutches, there not much we can do but to protect you from his grasp. The Med-Jai and I will protect you, there is nothing to fear."

His genuine smile and the brightness in his chocolate coloured eyes brought hope to Sara_. _Ardeth took Sara's hand in his own, an action of reassurance and condolence. Sara eyed their hands, the warmth and feel of his calloused hands brought her back from her cold numbness, but her voice was still laced with despair, "If it's this ancient evil you're fighting against, how can you be so sure I'll be safe?"

Ardeth's smile grew, "I am a Med-Jai warrior, and it has been our duty since the beginning to protect people from the unknown evil of Egypt. I give you my word on behalf of the Med-Jai of my tribe that we will protect you." Sara nodded weakly, sighing at the overwhelming situation. Ardeth withdrew his hands from her and pulled off a ring from his pinkie finger, before taking Sara's palm in his again. "This," he said towards the ring, "Is the sign of the Med-Jai. If you are in trouble, this is a symbol that you are under our protection. It will keep you safe." He slid the cool metal ring onto Sara's pinkie, which was too small for the sacred ring, and resorted to placing it on her middle finger.

It was still rather loose, but Sara observed its intricate designs in awe. "Thank you," she said quietly, looking up at Ardeth to see his smile grow even more, spreading across his face in a childish way. Sara stayed silent, tracing the detail of the ring rather than her usual habit of fidgeting.

The silence was broken when Alex spoke up, his small voice cracking from nerves, "Uh, that's a nice ring and all, but I don't think that's going to be a problem. With the whole bracelet and all..." He led off, raising his wrist in front of him to show a golden bangle hanging there. It glistened in the dim light from the bus, glinting off of the golden scorpion decoration positioned at the top. "I just slipped it on for a second, I swear! It wouldn't come off!"


	4. Complications

**I do not own any of these characters or story plot or anything in this story. All of these belong to the writer of The Mummy Returns. I only own my character- Ms. Sara Case.**

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**"Is that gold?" Jonathan asked, staring at the bracelet with greedy light blue eyes. Alex shrugged his shoulders while everyone else stayed silent, staring at the scorpion bracelet in shock.

"When I stuck it on I saw the pyramid of Giza and then whoosh! Straight across the desert to Karnak." Alex spoke in a rush, blurting out to everyone the visions the bracelet had showed him. Everything he had said, all of the locations flew straight over Sara's head and she felt faint, overwhelmed by the situation. She leaned back to hold her head between her knees. She let out a loud sigh, trying to stop her sudden vertigo. _Dead mummies, ancient kings, vision from a bracelet?!_

Ardeth Bay stood up in a rush, closing the space between himself and Alex in a few strides. He took Alex by the shoulders, his chocolate eyes bulging slightly as he felt tempted to shake the boy silly, "By putting this on, you have started a chain reaction that could bring about the next apocalypse." Alex gasped loudly, covering his mouth with his hand.

"Isn't it better for him to have it rather than the bad guys?" Sara asked meekly, her sing-song voice muffled by her hands that were still placed on either side of her face. The colour was slowly returned to her face as she maintained her position, her face still buried in her lap.

Rick placed a hand on Ardeth firmly, making him pull back from Alex. "You," he pointed to Ardeth Bay, giving him a serious look, "lighten up. You," he looked to Alex, "big trouble. And you," he looked at Jonathan, still staring at the bracelet with clouded over eyes as he swerved the double decker bus all over the street, "pay attention!" Jonathan snapped out of his trance and jolted forward, steering around the honking angry cars.

A crash sounded behind the bus, and Evelyn left her place next to her husband and son to run to the back window where Sara was seated. "We have company," she breathed, dread filling her as she looked on at the broken brick wall of the museum in the distance that imploded. Filling out of the gaping hole were four mummies, torn flesh and ancient bandages hanging from their limbs.

Sara twisted her torso around quickly to stare out the back window as the figures looked about with empty eyes before catching site of the bus. They roared unnaturally in unison, sending chills throughout Sara's entire body, and started running after the bus, jumping over cars and crawling on the walls of the old cobblestone buildings. Sara closed her eyes tightly as if to make the monsters trailing them disappear; but when she opened them the monsters were still there, howling and groaning inhumanly.

"I've always hated these guys," Rick said, appeared behind the crowd at the back of the bus and unzipped a duffel bag containing all sorts of guns. He laid the bag on an empty seat of the bus close to Sara, and she watched wide-eyed as he passed them out among the bus. Evelyn took a small pistol and hurried Alex towards the front of the bus where they would be out of harms way. "You want the shot gun?" He asked Sara, who was too frozen to speak, so he merely gave it to Ardeth along with another gun.

Ardeth knelt down in front of Sara placing the shot gun in her empty lap. "You'll be fine, just go with Evelyn. If anything happens, you fire this." She exchanged looks between him and the large loaded gun on her lap, unsure what to think. Ardeth took her hands in his and placed the gun in them firmly, holding her hands in his grasp for just a moment longer before cocking his own gun and standing up. He helped Sara up and led her with a palm on the middle of her back towards Evelyn, who sat her down at the front of the bus next to Alex. Ardeth smiled genuinely at Sara, his teeth gleaming perfectly, before taking his place at the back window and aiming at one of the mummies.

Rick kissed his wife and son before filling his gun full of bullets and cocking it. He nodded at Ardeth and walked onto the second level of the bus, "Just like old times."

Evelyn blocked the view from Alex and Sara as Ardeth began to shoot at the mummies. Gun fire could be heard from all directions, as well as the sound of breaking stone and rubble. Alex tried to look around his mother's figure to see what was going on but she stood in front of him protectively and watched the chaos that she was shielding her son from.

Sara peered out the window on her right to see two mummies scale the wall of a building beside her, screaming when they looked at her with hollow eyes, their jaws stretching from the tissue as they howled. One was quickly shot down by Rick, but the other dodged all the shells he unloaded at it, running sideways on the wall.

Suddenly the one on the wall leaped down, swinging itself into the open door at the back of the bus. Evelyn turned around swiftly; covering Alex as Ardeth fired all the bullets in his gun at the mummy, his eyes closed at the force of the gun rocked his entire body. The creature shrieked in pain at the force and amount of bullets from the small distance between it and the gun, and the bullets tore its waist and stringy flesh on its legs open further. It clawed at the metal bars on either side of the door, looking for some form of grip before propelling onto the hard cement of the ground.

Banging could be heard from up above along with the quick footsteps of Rick and the shots. Ardeth reloaded his gun, only to be taken off guard as the top half of the mummy swung back inside the cabin of the bus, making it way down the length of it by swinging back and forth on the metal bars lining the top of the bus. With a quick swipe, it knocked Ardeth's gun out of his hands and smashed his head into a window. Evelyn and Sara screamed, jolting to their feet as the mummy continued to slam Ardeth repeatedly into the windows. Evelyn pushed Alex closer to the front in attempts to keep him away from the mummy's whipping hands and Ardeth flew backwards as it hit him again. He wiped the blood off the corner of his lip and punched the mummy in the chest, sending it flying into the back window. It smashed harshly; the shattering of the ancient bones sounded throughout the bus and fell in a heap on the floor.

The mummy crawled forward, using the metal bars again to support its self again. He grinned sadistically, showing its aged cracked and discoloured teeth as it's fingernails grew long and sharp, deadly looking. It quickly darted at Ardeth, slashing him in the chest with its talons.

"Turn! Turn! Turn!" Evelyn screamed at Jonathan, in attempts to stop the mummy's preceding assault on Ardeth. Jonathan followed the order instantly, turning the wheel as sharply as possible, sending everyone in the bus off balanced. Sara and Alex slid onto the floor, clutching at each other and the seats to stop from sliding into the battle zone. The mummy and Ardeth Bay were thrown against the window again roughly; Ardeth's limp body fell onto the ground. Evelyn slid into Jonathan, and he yelped, running the bus into a light pole as he tried to regain control of the vehicle.

"Get out of the way!" Jonathan yelled at the other drivers on the street as the bus fish tailed dangerously all over the road, threatening to hit the smaller vehicles. He turned again, throwing the mummy into Ardeth Bay. Ardeth yelped as the mummy struck him in the chest with its long nails, making four deep wounds in his chest just above his heart. Sara quickly scrambled about on the floor, her hand grabbing in all directions as she frantically looked for her shot gun that lay underneath a seat of the bus. She grabbed it and stood up, bracing herself against one side of the bus. She held the gun awkwardly, trying to keep her aim steady as she stumbled about the bus in her high heels and fired multiple times, shattering the back window and sending the mummy flying through it.

Sara slid in a seat next to Ardeth, in a daze at the feeling of firing a gun. She tore a piece of cloth from his midnight robes and pressed it tightly to his wound in attempt to stop the bleeding. "It's going to be okay," she reassured him, and took his warm calloused hands in her free one. He nodded faintly, squeezing her hand tightly as Jonathan zipped around the sharp corners of London, through alleyways and small streets.

Yelling and groans could be heard from the top level of the bus, and Evelyn looked towards the roof, praying for her husband's safety. Jonathan's cries brought her back from her own thoughts and she looked out the front window next to him, gasping at the low bridge sign. "Everybody down!" She yelled, and they sank to the floor of the bus, covering their heads for protection. Sara lay next to Ardeth, their hands still entangled with one another.

The ripping of metal and the shattering of glass filled the air as the top of the bus broke off due to the strength of the stone bridge scrapped the roof; and the sheets of metal and broken glass fell behind the bus on the street with a loud thump.

"Is everybody okay?" Jonathan yelped from the front of the bus, the pressure of the situation obviously shown as his voice raised two octaves higher than normal. Sara looked around at the destruction before getting up and helping Ardeth to his feet. She checked on his wound before helping Alex and Evelyn up, checking for wounds of their own caused by the debris from the bridge incident.

Jonathan followed the road he was on until it led to the London Bridge were he decided it was far enough away from the museum to pull over. He brought the bus to a final stop and dropped his head onto the steering wheel, ignoring the loud blare of the horn went off. Jonathan let go of the small bit of air he had been holding the whole car ride and sighed, relieved and exhausted. "Great driving, Uncle John!" Alex called out, swinging his arms around his uncle's shoulders and giving him a gentle, playful punch to the side of the head. Jonathan nodded, his face still implanted into the wheel, too terrified to move or say anything.

Rick climbed down the stairs of the double decker bus, looking about as he ran his fingers through his short brown cropped hair, shaking bits of glass and metal debris from his hair and clothing. He pointed at Ardeth, a look of pain spread across his exotic features, distorting his blue tribal tattoos. "You okay?"

Ardeth forced a smile in Rick's direction as Sara sat down next to him again after finishing her once over of everybody. His hand instinctively crawled towards hers, finding comfort in its warm, "This was my first bus ride."

Rick chuckled and leaned back against a wall of the bus, looking for support for his own exhausted body. He groaned, feeling every place where he had been struck by the mummy he had been fighting, every punch and kick he had felt. _My body is definitely going be sore tomorrow_. Evelyn stood beside him, letting out a relieved gasp of her own. He looked at her and drew her to his chest by wrapping a strong hand around her waist and pulling her in. "What would I do without you?" She asked softly, and he chuckled again, kissing her softly.

Alex gagged slightly, turning away from his parents and walked towards the back of the bus in attempt to block out the display of affection from his parents. "Jeez, get a room," he mumbled under his breath, completely unimpressed. He peered around at the back of the bus, observing the shattered back window and gazed up at the stairs, staring at the shredded metal roof. He looked back at his parents, still kissing and shook his head.

Sara placed a hand on Ardeth's chest in a comforting motion as he rested, a look of peace spread over his face and his eyes closed. She got up and walked to where Alex was stood. "You know," she said slowly, leaning down until they were eye level, "you were very brave." Alex blushed, and looked down, kicking at the debris on the ground. Sara smiled at him and brushed her hand through his blond hair in a playful motion before something behind him caught her eye. She stood up straighter, squinting as she tried to make out the figures in the darkness close to the bus. Suddenly dark hands, clad in red cloth, shot forward and wrapped themselves around Alex's mouth and waist. "No!" Sara screamed, and tried to free him before she too was grabbed by another set of hands covered in red material.

The sudden commotion at the back of the bus alerted everyone at the front, making them look back just as Alex and Sara were dragged off the bus; kicking and screaming as they went. "Alex!" Rick yelled as he ran to the back of the bus to save his son. Ardeth stood up as well, jolting from a burst of adrenaline as Sara screamed out his name, terrified. The two made it to the back of the bus in time to see Sara and Alex thrown into a black car before it zoomed off quickly. Rick jumped out of the bus and started running after it, ignoring the burning in his lungs as he pushed himself forward as fast as he possibly could. He could feel every muscle in his body ache, begging him to stop, but he pressed on, motivated to save his son as he ran… but the car was faster. The last thing Rick saw of his son was the cloth to the back of the car's window thrown open and Alex's terrified face yelling for his father. The car zoomed off and Rick slowed until he eventually stopped, staring off at the car as he sobbed silently.


	5. The Reawakening of the Creature

**I do not own any of these characters or story plot or anything in this story. All of these belong to the writer of The Mummy Returns. I only own my character- Ms. Sara Case.**

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It was a scary reality when Sara thought of the familiarity she had developed for chloroform; the sickly sweet smell of chemicals that made her woozy and the rotten bitter taste it left behind in her mouth were becoming more and more distinct. She could barely remember what had happened from her time in Mr. Hafez's office to the time on the bus were she could still faintly remember the touch of Ardeth Bay's hand.

_How long ago had that been? How long have I been in this mess?_ It had to be more than a couple days since her visit to Mr. Hafez's office, that was something Sara was sure of; but other than the brief flashbacks to the meeting, the strange ritual and her rescue, everything seemed fuzzy. The more Sara thought about the answers and tried to faintly count the days in her head, the more her brain buzzed and pulsed. Sara groaned, resting her head in her hands in attempt to stop her headache as it pounded away like a jack hammer. It wasn't the most ladylike thing- to get sick, but it served them right. If they were going to kidnap her, she was going down fighting... or at least make them clean up after her. If only she still had her medical bag, maybe she could find some medication to dull the pain or effects of the chloroform but she hadn't seen it since her trip to the British Museum.

"Are we there yet?" Alex asked from his position in the train seat beside her, drumming his fingers in a steady rhythm on the table between the seats. His shrill voice made Sara's headache worse and it continued to pound in beat with Alex's fingers.

"No," Lock-Nah answered from across the table.

"Are we there yet?" Drum. Drum. Drum.

"No."

"Are we there yet now?" Drum. Drum. Drum.

"No."

"Are we there yet?" Drum. Drum. Drum. Sara groaned, clapping her hands over her ears.

"No!" In a split second Lock-Nah drew his knife and plunged it into the table between Alex's fingers, causing him to stop his constant movement. Sara's head jolted up, and she watched wide-eyed as the African man fumed at the young boy, his hand still on the knife as if ready to pull it out and start swinging any moment at the annoying child.

"Wow, that was amazing! Perfect aim!" Alex exclaimed, looking at the knife's proximity to his fingers.

"What are you talking about?" Lock-Nah said, his voice low and dangerous. He glared fiercely at Alex, still looking ready to attack. The colour from Sara's face drained as he pulled it out with one quick swipe, pulling it back in its stealth. "I missed."

Sara let her head drop from her hands in shock. "Oh my god," she breathed, but instantly shut up when Lock-Nah gave her a threatening glare. Rather than concentrating on his dark, dangerous eyes on her, watching her every movement, she resorted to placing her face on the smooth wood of the table between the train seats. She sighed, rejoicing in the cool feeling of the wood on her face, and her eyes drifted closed. Sara twitched, still feeling his eyes on her, but was content with the silence of the cart- no more questions, no more drumming of fingers, just the sounds of the wheels of the train along the track.

Lock-Nah drummed his fingers, the sound echoing off the wood and into Sara's head. Alex followed their capture's lead and copied the pattern. Lock-Nah repeated, followed by Alex. Suddenly Lock-Nah lunged at Alex, and Sara sprung up, pushing Alex back against his seat hard. "Enough!" She screamed and the train cart door was ripped open.

The trio turned to look as a group of people bustled in; Ms. Nais and Mr. Hafez followed the guards, and looked at the table. "How lovely," Ms. Nais said in her fake tone and Sara felt like smacking the grin off of her face. _I am so sick of this._

"It's the book of the dead!" Alex yelped, tugging on Sara's sleeve to gain her attention. He pointed to an accident book that Ms. Nais was holding, with broken bindings and browned with age.

Ms. Nais' face lit up with intrigue as she stepped forward, the book in hand, towards Alex. Her black eyes looked dangerous, the light glinting off of them to give the usual sinister look of them, like the predator stalking its prey. Alex leaned back into his seat as she stepped forward, and tried to hide next to Sara. "What a bright little child," Ms. Nais said, taking a place right beside Alex. Alex looked for some sort of escape, he was caught in the seat between Ms. Nais and Sara with no where to run; he slid his hand into Sara's for some type of comfort and protection, and watched Ms. Nais with guarded eyes. She bent down to him, petting his blonde hair which made his entire body straighten up and shutter, "You're mother must be missing you terribly." Her tone lost it's soft tone, and became threatening, "If you wish to see her again, you better behave."

He looked at her, moving away so that her hand fell away from his head, "Lady, I barely behave for my parents. What makes you think I'm going to do it for you?" Lock-nah instantly gained a grip on his knife, glaring at Alex for his smart-ass comment, warning him to stay silent.

Ms. Nais cupped Alex's cheek, whispering in the soft sing song tone, which seems equally just as dangerous as her harsher tone, "Because you're parents don't slip poisonous snakes into your bed when you were sleeping." She kissed his cheek and Alex instantly straightened up again, his eyes wide. He looked up at Sara for some type of protection but she was just as equally shocked by the other woman's words.

The door to the chart was yet again abruptly thrown open and three men walked in, dragging something covered in cloth in. Alex instantly shot up from his slouching position, staring at the men, "You were the guys at the tomb trying to get the Scorpion Bracelet! You tried to kill me!" Sara grabbed him around the waist and sat him down, clamping a hand around his mouth to stop his outbursts.

A short fat man, the obvious leader of the bunch, mimicked Alex in a false high pitch voice. He rolled his eyes and ran his pudgy hands over his balding scalp, pulling away the red material that acted as protection from the harsh desert rays. "Brat," the man spat at Alex, "we would of gotten it if it weren't for you and your goddamn parents."

Mr. Hafez cleared his throat and the fat man instantly collected himself, his face red from a sunburnt and from embarrassment at his own outburst. "Did you acquire what we asked?"

"Oh, we 'acquired' it alright," The leader spoke, and his bandit followers set a covered object on the ground behind him, "You know what? We had to kill two of those guards at the mausoleum to acquire it." At that moment, Sara noticed the large riffle that lay at his hip and the string of bullets that were across his chest. She gulped and held her hand firmer on Alex's mouth, making sure not to cause anymore trouble with these shady characters.

One of the bandit's spoke up behind their leader, his voice thick with accent and foreign, "This chest is cursed." His skin was a dark tanned colour and he was dressed like a gypsy with many bands and bracelets around his arms. His clothes were dusty and his head was also covered with bright coloured cloth for protection. He threw the material off of the object on the ground to reveal an old chest. It was red and gold, with black writing all over it. He ran his hand over it, reading the inscription. "It says there is one, the undead, who will kill all those who open this chest-"

"Yes, yes. And the creature will suck them dry and he will become whole again. We've all heard this story before," Mr. Hafez chuckled, trying to brush it off as nothing.

The leader of the bandits gave a twisted smile as the old man tried to fool him, "Yeah but I heard the yanks who found this years ago all died. Horrible deaths they were."

The third bandit spoke up for his leader, a sly look on his face, "So with that in mind, we want ten." He was tall and lanky, dressed in the same wardrobe as the others with a cap on his head. His eyes were blue and his teeth were crooked and yellow.

"But the agreement we had was five!" Mr. Hafez bellowed angrily, shaking at the thought of being ripped off by these punks.

The leader grinned at his reaction, running his hands again over his smooth head, something Sara considered a bad habit, "Well we want ten, or we'll take it elsewhere!"

Mr. Hafez tried to protest but Ms. Nais placed a hand on his shoulder to silence him, "Ten will be just fine gentlemen. Please come with me, Lord Imhotep will be busy for a couple minutes. You're welcome to discuss your terms of agreement with him afterwards," Ms. Nais smiled at the bandits and they followed her to the next chart with their precious chest in hand.

* * *

Even after the bandits had left, Mr. Hafez seemed rather worked up. His face was red, matching the red cloth he always wore, and he kept dabbing his forehead with a handkerchief. Once he regained himself, he turned to Lock-Nah, "Lord Imhotep wishes to meet the boy before he meets with the others," Mr. Hafez said, nodding towards Alex, "Bring the girl also."

Sara suddenly felt her stomach bubbly wildly, threatening to spill over at any moment. Chills ran up and down her spine like electricity, spending jolts to her fingers and toes. Flashes of the grotesque face ran through her mind- of his fingers touching her skin, his soft cooing to her in the animalistic voice. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind.

Lock-Nah nodded at the order and Mr. Hafez quickly scrambled after Ms. Nais and their guests. The African man chuckled, grabbing both Alex and Sara by the wrist and pulling them through the chart opposite to the direction the others left, despite their violent protests.

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Once they entered the other cart, and Lock-Nah released them. The room was dimly lit with candles, and the walls were covered with ancient Egyptian symbols and tablets. Sara sucked in a breath as she looked around, looking for the monster that had taken so much interest in her before. She heard Alex gasp beside her as she continued to look about the strange cart, examining the pictures of gods with animal heads and sceptres, and turned to find a figure clad in a long cloak and a silver mask resembling a face. Lock-Nah knelt behind them at the presence of this figure and instantly Sara started trembling- this was the monster, the creature they were trying to resurrect.

He took a couple steps towards the group, his steps echoing in the silent room. He looked down at both of them, speaking in a foreign tongue at first before switching to English, his voice bellowing, "It is you that is the chosen one, you will take me to Ahm Sheer."

Alex gulped, "What if I don't? What if I get a little lost?"

The cloaked figure paused, chuckling at Alex's comment before passing a hand above the air where Alex stood, "You have strength, little one. You are your father's son, but I know something you don't. This bracelet," he examined Alex's wrist, looking at the intricate details, "is a gift and a curse. The sands of time have already begun to fall against you."

"Yeah, yeah, I've already heard this part. The minute I put the bracelet on- seven days do I have before the Scorpion King wakes up." Alex rolled his eyes as if resetting something boring, not the possible end of the world.

The figured knelt down in front of Alex until they were eye level, his voice displaying his amusement, "Did you also hear that if you do not enter the pyramid before the sun strikes it on that very morning that the bracelet will suck the life out of you?"

"That part I missed." Alex said quietly, all courage quietly vanishing. His eyes lit up suddenly as he yelped, "Hey wait a minute! That only means I have five days left!"

The cloaked figure nodded, his voice mocking as he spoke to Alex, "I believe it would be nice if we don't get lost, don't you?"

The room was silent. Sara watched as the creature and Alex discussed the next couple of days, still scared of what was under that mask. Alex was a mouthy kid, something that Sara already knew from their short knowledge of each other, but she thought he was smart. She hoped he was smart- or at least smart enough to hold his tongue in a situation like this one. Alex opened his mouth, his eyes narrowing at the creature and his voice bold, "My dad is going to kick your ass." Sara mentally smacked herself, and grabbed onto Alex tightly. She would definitely have a discussion with Evelyn about disciplining her son.

The creature chuckled again a bit before reaching up with a gloved hand towards his face, removing his mask. The dull gray, lifeless eyes seemed to bore holes into Alex, and the smell of rotten flesh instantly entered Sara's nose. The dead skin hung onto the bone loosely and in some places, was completely missing. The flesh on his lips was pulled tight and his nose seemed to be pushed in. There was a patch on his head that was caved in, exposing the brain cavity and the creepy crawlies inside. "I do not think so," the creature spoke deeply, exposing his cracked and blackened teeth.

Alex gasped, and instantly whipped around, burying his face into Sara's midsection. She clutched him tightly, petting his blond hair back in a comforting motion as he shook, sobbing silently. As much as she tried, Sara couldn't pull her gaze from the image of death before her. _I've seen people die before, I've pronounced them dead, I've felt no pulse... What is this thing?_ A snake slithered from a gap in his head into his right eye socket while a beetle looking insect scrambled into his mouth, where it bit down on it. The creature chewed the bug with a content, twisted smile on his face as he stared back at her. Sara swooned, her eyes rolling back from the image.

After a few moments, when the image of death had completely soaked in, the creature placed the mask back onto his face. He looked to Alex, who was uncharacteristically silent, his face still hidden against Sara's blouse, "I believe we have an understanding now." Alex simply nodded his head, clutching around Sara's waist with a iron strong grip. The creature stood up from his kneeling position, standing more than a couple inches above Sara. He leaned over her, his voice turned softer, "Once he has taken us to Ahm Sheer, that is where you can help, my queen." He took Sara's hand in his grasp and brought it to his face, resting the cold lips of the mask against the dark skin of her hand.

Sara watched in disgust, her skin crawled as he creature kept her hand there. Her head spun as his words echoed in her mind, _What is he planning to do with me? Human scarification? Offer me to his twisted gods?_ Sara's heart seemed to pulse in her ears and her knees buckled. She could feel herself growing weak and her eyes rolled back. As she was drifting into unconsciousness, the only image that flashed through her mind was the creature torn face, laughing as bits of the beetle stayed rooted in it's blackened teeth. Everything went black.

* * *

Ms. Nais opened the chart door where the desert thugs sat awkwardly. She smiled at them cheerfully and used her fake, sing-song voice, "Please come with me, Lord Imhotep seems to be done with his appointment." The bandits stood up and followed her to the next cart with their precious chest in hand.

"Right in here," Ms. Nais pointed towards a doorway and the men piled in, looking about the dimly lit room decorated with ancient signs and symbols.

"This place is cursed," the tanned man spoke, looking around for any signs of danger.

The lanky one gasped, annoyed with his partner, "You can never be happy without a good curse, can you?" He mocked him in a low voice, "This is curse, no, this is cursed." He instantly stopped his mocking when the door behind them quickly slammed shut and they could hear the click of the lock. He grabbed the doorknob and yanked with all of his might, praying the door would open but it didn't budge. "Oh no, oh no, oh no." He sobbed, "I knew I shouldn't of gotten involved in this."

"I told you it was cursed!" The tan one yelped and he too tried to pull on the door but gave up when it didn't open.

The leader shushed his men and pulled out his gun, taking slow steps around the room as he scanned it. The other two followed his actions, peaking behind curtains and checking the corners for any presence. The room became cold and a soft wind blew through it, making the candles flicker. "What's going on?" The lanky bandit asked, looking behind him.

Suddenly a grotesque face appeared, chuckling as the men tried to shoot him. Soon the gunshots died until the only thing left was the sound of a muffled scream and his crazed laughter.


	6. Past Memories and An Unwanted Visitor

**I do not own any of these characters or story plot or anything in this story. All of these belong to the writer of The Mummy Returns. I only own my character- Ms. Sara Case.**

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Sara's eyes fluttered open, groaning at the light that seemed to stream in on her face. The last thing she could remember was in Imhotep's train cart and shuttered at the thought of that thing touching her, even if it was only against the cool metal of his mask- it was still repulsive.

When she finally felt motivated to get up despite the intrusion of the bright light, she opened her eyes again and sat up in hopes of escaping from the sun's glare. Sara rubbed her eyes with the palm of her hand and looked around. Her mouth fell open and she rubbed her eyes again, trying to clear them from the apparent illusion. When she reopened them, expecting to see the dull scrap metal that usually covered the walls of the train cart but was met by the same illusion as previous- a wide marble room with elegant pillars and high ceilings.

Panicked, she looked around for any signs of the guards or anything that may look familiar, and instantly caught site of the bed she was on with its silky sheets that glistened like gold in the sunlight. She stared at the intricate hand sewn details in the sheets, following them with wide eyes. "This is much too strange," she breathed quietly.

She quickly threw off the sheets and got up from the bed, in desperate hope to find anything that could tell her what was going on. Sara looked about for her high heels but gave up, slipping her feet into golden reed sandals placed on the marble floor next to the bed. She rushed towards an open doorway in the corner of the room, and quickly walked down the marble hallways. As panicked as she had felt, she moved swiftly, turning left and right through the maze of hallways with ease. The hallways were spookily empty, with no signs of life throughout the marble palace but Sara, determined as she was, continued on for her search for answers.

When the pathway she was on ended, with no more twists and turns, she found herself at a doorway leading to a large empty ballroom. Elegant painting adorned the marble walls and Sara couldn't help but gasp at their exotic beauty; a variety of animal headed gods and goddesses, and elaborate pictures detailing the stories of their followers. At the end of the ballroom were two golden thrones covered in rubies and emeralds which glistened in the dim light from the various torches set up around the room. Wrapped up in the stories and tales of the Egyptian people, Sara barely heard someone sneak up behind her.

"Ebe-Djabenusiri," A soft male voice whispered in Sara's ear. She turned around abruptly, staring into the eyes dark adoring eyes of a tall muscular man. His raven hair hung loosely around his shoulders; some pieces wound in braids and tied up with gold bangles and rope. He smiled at her tenderly, his teeth a brilliant shade of white which stood out against his dark tanned skin. He was decorated in gold, with a large necklace that hung halfway down his muscular chest. On his upper arms were frayed pieces of robe and on his wrist was a familiar gold bracelet, adorned with a golden Scorpion. Sara took a deep breath in as he cupped her face in his large calloused hands and he kissed her forehead, "My Ebe-Djabenusiri."

He scooped Sara up in his arms and carried her towards a balcony behind the thrones, setting her on her feet and wrapping his arms from behind her. Sara took in the view, the beautiful city underneath them that was full of long limestone pillars and golden statues. In the East was a river that stretched as far as Sara could see. "This," he breathed against her neck, nuzzling his nose into her soft skin, "is all yours, my queen."

Overwhelmed, Sara turned around to stare at the muscular figure. He leaned down, peering into her eyes, with a wide smile on his beautiful face. "Mathayus," She started, the name sounding familiar yet foreign at the same time, but she stopped once her breath caught in her throat. The beauty of him and the pure love that was shown in his eyes was enough to stop Sara's sentence and she found herself staring at him in awe with wide eyes. With a sudden urge, she reached up and kissed him. The kiss started out tender but as time dragged on, it deepened. The man pulled Sara to him tightly and she entangled her fingers in his long, wild hair and closed her eyes.

Once the kissed ended, her eyes fluttered open. A rather tall bald man sat where her Egyptian king should of, although his eyes were full of the same admiration as the Scorpion King held. His face was slimmer than the previous man's, and his skin was much lighter. His shoulders were broad and his chest was muscular but not as much as the king's; Sara watched as they moved up and down as he heaved, trying to regain his breath. He smiled, his lips curving up wickedly at her and he moved in closer, his lips brushing against her own. "Ebe-Djabenusiri," he whispered his voice velvet smooth that left Sara in a trance. His lips pressed harsher on Sara's and his hand ran up the side of her leg, edging up the material of her skirt.

Instantly she was snapped back into reality, smacking his hand away. "Excuse me!" She yelped and pushed his shoulders firmly, trying to keep from as far away from her as possible. He watched with amused eyes as she edged herself away from him, hitting her head on the wall behind her. "Ouch," she cried out, holding her head in her hand and the man chuckled. Sara through a fierce glare at him and looked about. She was lying down on a mattress in the bunkrooms of the train, dressed in her work attire, with this man perched on the side. _I must have been brought here after that…thing._ Sara shuttered at the thought of the broken skull and image of death that had been portrayed to her earlier but her back when rigid when she still felt as though she was being watched.

"Excuse me, but I don't believe you should be here," she said quietly, looking at the man with guarded eyes. As intimating as she tried to be, it failed miserably when the man cocked an eye brow at her.

"Why is that, Ms?" He asked in a rather cocky fashion, his voice deep and rich. His deep brown eyes twinkled with amusement.

"I don't believe your master would like that very much," Sara gulped, attempting to sound brave as she repeated the creature's name, "Lord Imhotep wouldn't be too impressed."

The man burst out laughing, clutching his stomach as he hunched over. His laugh was booming, and although Sara didn't know why, it seemed menacing. He leaned forward again; close enough to Sara that she could feel his breath on her lips, "You're quite amusing. First your fainting, and now this. Wonderful entertainment."

Sara blinked a couple times, scanning the man as the wheels in her brain turned; the familiarity of the laugh, the adoration in his eyes similar to at the ritual, and the use of the Scorpion Queen's name suddenly alerted her. Her mouth opened at the conclusion hit her- Imhotep in the flesh.


	7. The Assignment

There was no fluffy kind word to describe it, not a single one to soften the harsh blow to Ardeth's ego- he had failed. He had a promise to the Med-Jai, his trusted brotherhood of warriors that risked their lives for generations to keep trouble at bay and he had simply just let evil steal their most promising key to open the gates of Hell, unleashing the most terrifying evil that the brotherhood had ever faced.

But what was most troublesome was that Ardeth had made a promise to her- Sara Case. Just her name alone made his skin burn, his hair stand on end. Everything reminded him of her, the way her ancient name sounded like the wind blowing across the desert in a small breath, the way the sun shone like her eyes did when she looked at him in the dim light of the bus, the way the silk of his cloak reminded him of the soft velvet texture of her long flowing mane; Ardeth was infatuated.

He had always heard stories of the Scorpion Queen's beauty, but they were always just passed as old folk tales told by his peoples around the fire at night to the tribe's youth. It was Ebe-Djabenusiri's that caused the Scorpion King to sell his very soul to save her when she was kidnapped by the King of Thebes' men.

The story took place in the ancient world, about 3067 BC; while the royal party was out of the kingdom, the group was ambushed by those of the other kingdom and the Queen was taken, along with some other women, weapons and jewels. The men who had raided the party were subjects of the King of Thebes, who had also heard tales of the Queen's beauty and has sent his followers to take the pricey possessions from the rival kingdom next to his. When the Scorpion King, Mathayus, had heard the news of his wife's kidnapping, he had gone insane with rage and instantly ordered his men to prepare an attack on the kingdom of Thebes.

The vicious campaign against the kingdom of Thebes lasted several long years, until the Scorpion King's men were defeated and driven deep into the sacred desert of Amsheer. As the soldiers of Mathayus' army slowly died off in the vast sea of sand, he trenched on, devising a plan to gain back his Queen. Near his death, the Scorpion King made a pact with the dark god Anubis; that if Anubis spared his life, let him concur his enemies and save the woman he loved, he would give him his soul.

Anubis accepted the king's offer, and gave the Scorpion King command of his army; and like an evil flood, they washed away all that laid before them. They quickly overcame the high, impenetrable walls that seems like such a challenge to the king's army earlier with ease and quickly set chaos upon the kingdom of Thebes. The stench of death rose upon the kingdom, mixing together with the thick black clouds of smoke that streamed from the burning buildings as the black dogs of the underworld invaded the kingdom like locus.

It is said that the Queen, Ebe-Djabenusiri, watched in horror at the unearthly chaos that came upon the kingdom, waiting for her doom. The doors to the palace room were flown open and a group of the demons walked in, their bodies that of a man's and heads the form of dogs-surely they were Anubis's army, come to kill her as well. As she knelt in front of them, begging for mercy, they bowed down before her. Behind them, Mathayus strode in. He gently picked her up, taking the Queen far away from the chaos of the kingdom that she was taken to against her will.

Unfortunately, the Queen did not survive their journey back to their kingdom. The Scorpion King swore to the gods, each threat and curse full of anger and pain- surely if he had sold his soul, a possession that was his entire existence, Anubis could have prevented his love's death. In return for his servant's remarks, Anubis cursed the Scorpion King to an eternity of loneliness, fulfilling each day of his immortality angry and broken hearted.

The Scorpion King supposedly is still now hidden away in the pyramid of Amsheer, a mysterious place with an unknown location, made to serve the god Anubis for all of time until he once again is reunited with his Queen. His army was returned to the sands from once they came; where they wait, silently, to be awakened once again.

Even as a young boy, Ardeth was captivated by the fable, in awe at the descriptions of the Queen's beauty and her astounding allure to all men. But now, once he was actually in the story, had witnessed the second coming of the Queen, her reincarnation, he could understand. Ardeth felt motivated, almost willed to help Sara, to save her from any danger. But she was now his assignment by the Med-Jai, his responsibility to the world as well as his tribe, and nothing else. He was expected by his people to have no emotional attachment and to not be under the Queen's spell, even if it was by her reincarnation. But all he could think of was her brilliant smile and the warmth of her hand on his.

Ardeth wasn't the only one to notice his own familiarity towards his mission at assignment; with every mention of her name instead of reference to the key or the distance moods his had been in lately, the Med-Jais were becoming suspicious of their leaders uncharacteristic changes. He had always been a strong leader, never easily distracted by anything but lately the Med-Jai would catch Ardeth's glazed over expression at the mention of the key's name, or his quick gesture to correct them by using her full name- Ms. Sara Case. Ardeth could tell the men had figured it out, the spell he was seemingly under, by the unpleasant reactions by his tribesmen; he could see the sharp glares and grimaces' as they road on towards where Rick and Evie were located.

* * *

AN: My dear fine feathered friends, I am sorry about taking so long to update! I can assure you that I have not forgotten the Scorpion Queen and will update as soon as I can! In fact, I am working on another chapter as I type this. Stay tuned.


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